Management Accounting Section Midyear Meeting

Who Does the Dirty Work? The Effect of Management Accountant’s Traits and Attitudes

• In Event: Ethics

Abstract

Management accountants perform a wide range of tasks in the company and can take different
roles. In an ongoing discussion, these tasks and roles have been described as having varying
degrees of topicality and future orientation. Nevertheless, even those less attractive, less popular
and less prestigious tasks have to be performed, as they are important for companies as well.
This study examines which type of management accountant usually performs more of these
tasks and to what extent the personality of the individual and personal career ambitions have an
influence on the frequency. We test our hypotheses using survey data which we collected from
two surveys among German management accountants and we find evidence that consists with
our predictions. Thus, we can show that the personality, the level of career ambition, and
whether the management accountants like these so-called dirty-work tasks, influence the
frequency in which they perform the so-called dirty work. In doing so, we contribute to the
existing literature and moreover build up a new perspective from which the ongoing discussion
about role models can be looked at. This is also relevant for business practice, as it provides
insights into why management accountants behave the way they do in their work environment.

Authors

• Nicole Christiane Hoffmann, University of Potsdam

• Anja Schwering, University of Potsdam